Rowena Hume
Rowena Grace Douglas Hume was a Canadian obstetrician and one of the founders of Toronto's Women's College Hospital. She was also the first Chief of Obstetrics at the hospital from 1911 to 1926.
Early life and education
Hume was born in Galt, Ontario, in 1877. While she was in her 20s, she enrolled in the Ontario Medical College for Women and concluded her studies in 1899 when she obtained an M.D. from Trinity College. After obtaining her M.D., she travelled to Chicago for postgraduate studies at the Women's Hospital and then to the Queen Charlotte Hospital in England for further postgraduate studies. Finally, she joined the staff of her alma mater, the Ontario Medical College for Women.Career
In 1903 she joined the staff of the Ontario Medical College for Women as a Laboratory Assistant in Pathology and Bacteriology and an Assistant in Anatomy. She also worked at the college's Women's Dispensary. In 1911, Hume was a part of the founding committee of Women's College Hospital. Shortly after, she was appointed as the hospital's first Chief of Obstetrics, a role she held until 1926. Hume then opened her own private practice, which she maintained until she died in 1966.In addition to her work in obstetrics, Hume was also passionate about birth control programs. According to an article in The Globe and Mail, in 1930 she volunteered at the Hamilton Planned Parenthood Society once a week because they could not find any doctors willing to volunteer.